Thank you for signing our petition to support our call for an increase in New York State support for Alzheimer's disease support services

New York State is on the doorstep of a public health crisis.

Dementia caregiving is a billion-dollar unpaid industry in New York State. More than one million New Yorkers provide daily unpaid care for someone with dementia totaling 1.14 billion hours of care annually. The market value of their unpaid care is more than $14 billion. Yet, New York State’s investment in dementia caregiver supports is paltry: $559,000 in the SFY2014-15 executive budget, or a mere $1.75 per person in New York diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

The toll of dementia care in New York is staggering:

65 percent of caregivers report being late or leaving early from work, or having to take time off due to caregiving.

19 percent left the workforce completely or took an early retirement.

13 percent reduced their work hours from full- to part-time.

According to MetLife Mature Market Institute, caregiving costs American businesses $33.6 billion annually. Not only does this impact a company’s productivity and profitability, but it has a direct effect on tax revenues: caregivers in these situations earn less and have fewer discretionary resources at their disposal than if they were fully employed, leading to less income and consumption to tax. This “Bermuda Triangle” of reduced corporate productivity, incomes and tax base has a significantly negative effect on the New York State economy.

The Coalition respectfully requests $5 million to support its initiatives under the Alzheimer’s Community Assistance Program (AlzCAP). This would increase the state’s per person investement to $15.63.